Please join at our events that are always fun, informative and of course, help the animals!

ANIMAL CHARITIES UNITE: Different Missions, Same Cause

We have all seen the countless animals that roam our streets. The fortunate few are rescued, but there remain so many that need our help. Our compassion is all these abandoned animals have.

All of the proceeds of our events go to funding operations and expansions of, SOCIEDAD PROTECTORA DE ANIMALES (S.P.A.), and sometimes in conjunction with local related charities, AMIGOS DE ANIMALES San Miguel de Allende, and AMIGOS DE ANIMALES Guanajuato. Please note that the two Amigos de Animales charities are completely independent of one another.

The missions of these charities are distinct, but ultimately serve the same cause.  The S.P.A., which has been active since the early 1980’s, is San Miguel’s only animal shelter. Housing nearly 100 dogs and cats at any given moment, it is a 24/7 operation with full-time staff and volunteer help. There is also an on-site low cost clinic offering veterinary care, vaccinations and spay/neuter services for people of modest means. The S.P.A. currently has many vital needs including a new septic system and a renovation of both cat and dog enclosure, which you can read more about on our Wish List.

Recently, a community outreach sponsorship program was instituted on-site at the S.P.A. to teach Mexican teenagers about animal obedience and proper care. This program has a two-fold benefit providing these youth with potential employment skills in dog walking, animal sitting and care, and it helps to socialize the dogs, making them more adoptable.

Amigos de Animales San Miguel de Allende, operating since 2002, has three main objectives. They organize sterilization blitzes 3 times a year where they spay/neuter approximately 150 animals each time, preventing hundreds of thousands of unwanted births. They create and implement educational programs targeting children that focus on the care and respectful treatment of animals. And they work with the city pound, providing the medicines for a gentle euthanasia of the dogs and have hired a veterinarian to supervise the euthanasia and assure the proper treatment of these animals. “Amigos”, as they are commonly referred to by the locals, have many other accomplishments, which you may read about on their website.

Amigos de Animales Guanajuato, also in operation since 2002, conducts sterilization campaigns three times a year in the city of Guanajuato or a nearby village. They also work with local veterinarians to rescue and facilitate the adoption of homeless dogs and cats. As of June 2008 they have found homes for over 1,500 animals and have sterilized more than 3,600.

With tag-lines such as “The Voice of the Voiceless” and “Hope, Health and Homes for Cats and Dogs in Need”, it is clear that these organizations care to make a tremendous difference on behalf of these abandoned creatures, those that have the capacity to love and give us so much in return.

Excerpted from an article by Janielle Penner Garza